As far as your view carries
by Kashi103
Summary: Naruto had a easy mission: Get to the capital, deliver the scrolls, come back. But noo, he had to run into heavy weather. AU warning, if Naruto's flight goggles are not enough indication that he could pilot a plane, better stay out. Rated M for safety
1. Into the sun

Author's notes:

Naruto not mine, sueing will just waste your money... same goes for any other movie or game I may use in this story, just in case you wonder.

And now the important stuff: This is actually my second attempt on a story, and I thank _symbiotic_ for the idea. I wanted to do 10k words a chapter, but I guess I wouldn't survive that :P. So I guess it'll be 4k per chapter. Chapters may come in intervals varying from one week to two months (hopefully the max). There may be a few typos here and there when my keyboard decides to "miss" a key, but otherwise it should be fine.

To possible reviewers: flaming will be ignored, constructive criticism is always welcome. Don't go "but the P51 has a top speed of XYZ instead of ABC" on me, it won't kill the story if something isn't one hundred percent accurate. Also I'd like to ask reviewers to drop ideas for a new title for this story, as my title... sucks.

Trivia: Yes, you heard it, there is trivia to my story. You may find interesting side-facts about my story in my profile. Trivia for chapter one is up already. But okay, this was enough taking up your time, on with the story.

Sunrays in the morning

The weather forecast said nothing about heavy rain, or strong winds that almost blew you out of the sky. Yet there it was: The worst storm he'd seen in his entire career as a pilot. Okay he hadn't been flying _that long_ yet, but he was sure this wasn't your everyday storm in any way or form.

He knew something was wrong about this when his compass started whirling around like mad. Great, now he would have to guess his position. The radio didn't work since before the storm showed itself behind some hills. He really should have slept in today.

"This is FC air force twenty – six six three. Does someone read me? I've been caught in a heavy storm at the southern Forest country border. I repeat, this is FC air force twenty – six six three on a delivery flight to the Forest country capital. Is anyone out there?"

"Of course, no response… figures." His plane shook violently and all of a sudden his world began to turn. "Ohh shit!" Trying to gain control over his machine again he pushed the stick hard to the left, but nothing happened, aside from the spinning slowing down for a second. Looking out of the windows he gritted his teeth. "And of course the only place to land on is a rocky valley. Just my luck."

Concentrating all of his efforts into stabilizing his flight so he won't crash upside down he managed to counter the rolling for the most part. "If you dare giving in on me I'll have you scrapped I swear." _Okay, after this you're likely scrap anyway but hell…_ then he saw them. Spikes bigger than most planes he'd ever seen sticking out of the cliffs left and right. "Yust screw you all!" he dove down, looking for an opening in between the thorns.

"Ookay… just have to pull through here and find some field… shit… SHIIIIIIT!" Dodging to the left and rolling until his plane was flying vertically he just made it through an opening that barely left space to squeeze a child through. "WHAT'S IT WITH THIS FREAKING VALLEY?!?" Then, all of a sudden he found himself in a dead end.

"Huh?" Sweatdroppping he pushed the throttle to full and pulled the stick, hoping to climb enough to reach the top. It was then that he got caught in a strong gust of wind that pushed him back down into the valley.

"NOO!"

* * *

"Say, you forced her to do recon again?" Walking alongside, two friends looked through a clipboard one of them was holding. "Nobody forced anyone. I just asked for volunteers." The first snorted. "In other words: You waited till you two were alone and shoved the duty off to her." A smile and happy nod was the answer. "You're such a bad person." The second one shrugged. "We're pirates. Being nice isn't part of the job description." The first slapped her forehead. 

"So where was she sent?" They flipped pages, looking at a map. "Over here, the something-something cliffs. Pretty nasty when you fly around there in heavy weather, or so I heard. Boss told us something about a radio signal coming from there, maybe something we can salvage." The first one gave an exasperated sigh. "You could at least try to remember the names of the important landmarks of the countries we travel… Those are the fallen angel's cliffs. And those are already quite challenging with sunny weather. I tell you if she gets hurt I'll have your head…"

"ALL OFFICERS TO THE BRIDGE. WE HAVE RECEIVED A MESSAGE FROM THE MAINBASE." They stopped their discussion and headed for the bridge. "And what do those stagehand idiots want now?" She seriously hoped they didn't promise their services to some rich idiot like last time. _At least it was funny to watch him hang down our stern crying for mommy.

* * *

_

She had no idea where to start her search. Most places were not visible from the altitude she was flying at, but going down meant flying through a labyrinth of stone pillars that at most places were way too close to each other to fit through with a biplane.

She was about to turn back when she saw that glimpse of bright red at one of the natural stone bridges. Flying a wide arc around it she found not only a pretty much beaten up plane but also the pilot, hanging on some spikes of the bridge with his parachute. "Oh, my…" Searching for an adequate spot to land she got down and ran over to where the chute was, securing it with a rope and pulling the unconscious pilot back up.

He looked quite beaten, and it took him a few minutes to actually wake up. When he considered himself able to stand (or in that case jump) up again the first thing he did was running over to his plane, his savior pulling him back and saving from falling down the cliff. "My plane… I had to reuse parts from four different machines to get her running again…"

"Anou… at least you seem to be unharmed. You should be glad for this." He looked back at her. "So what? That plane was my life! Damn air force idiots are short on planes and I had one. I have no idea if I'll ever get a new one…" He looked down. "Also, how the heck am I supposed to get those scrolls to the capital… No, wait. How the hell am I supposed to get to the scrolls?!?"

He started climbing down, despite her soft protests. "I'll be right back, but I need to get those scrolls!" With that he slid down, occasionally cursing on the rocks that stood in the way. In the meantime she got another rope and let it down to the bottom, securing her end at one of the larger boulders around.

While skimming through the remnants of his plane's cockpit he estimated the damage his plane took. _That's what you call a total loss, isn't it… completely beyond repair._ Taking the small box from underneath his seat he moved over to where the rope hung down and climbed up, taking a lot longer than on the way down but making it without major injuries.

"Say, you can't by any chance give me a ride to the capital?" She shook her head. "I need to refuel, and even then my range is not enough, even with external tanks." He sighed. "So you know any nearby airfield where I could get a plane that has the range to go there?"

She shook her head. "No airfield. There is the Zero, the airship I'm operating from. But we don't have any other planes than this type so I doubt we can get you there…" Climbing into her plane she motioned him to take the front seat. "You think I could get your captain to change course?" He took the internal radio and the flight goggles, ignoring the flight cap. "That one makes me really nostalgic, I had my first fly in a biplane…"

He turned around. "But you know; this field doesn't look like you have enough space to start." She started the engine and slowly maneuvered the plane to the other side, taking a turn. "The space we need is just below" He nodded to himself before jerking around and jelling at her. "You want to use the valley? You'll kill us!"

He was conveniently ignored as she pulled the throttle to full and started accelerating. "Hey are you listening? I tell you to stop dammit! I just came out of that pit! Helloo?!?" Too late, they were already falling down the cliff. "You know, you can pull her up now. Hey? Those cliffs are really pointy and all, I'd like you to pull up nooow!!!" She did as he asked, gliding a few meters over the ground for a second before gaining height and heading north.

"I wouldn't have thought that an air force pilot is such a scaredy cat." He grumbled something to himself. "What was that? You have to speak a little louder." He was silent for a few seconds, before repeating. "I'm not yet an official pilot. Getting those papers to the capital was the condition to make me one…" he crossed his arms and stared at the country below, deciding to sulk in silence for the time being.

* * *

"Captain? We cannot make contact with the messenger. Last known position was the Stone country border." Gritting his teeth the captain tossed his pen into the trash can. "I knew it was a bad idea to let him fly." The radio operator took the can and tossed the contents out of the window and into the garbage container below. "Then why did you promote the idea to the commander?" 

"I didn't. The commander came up with it herself. I guess he annoyed the hell out of her until she gave in." Taking out a map of the Stone country/Forest country border he sketched the messenger's most likely course. "Go ask the commander if we can send out someone to look for him. I'll go and get a plane ready."

Running down from the radar station to the command barracks the radio operator was halted by one of the Aircraft mechanics. "You having any information about a sortie? The pilots have been called to the flight office. But we don't have the time to get all planes ready." He shook his head. "The only flight operation for the next twelve hours should be a reconnaissance mission. But you should get ready to move out. Our messenger went missing; we may need to move closer to the border in a few days."

Entering the command barracks he bumped into a tall man "My apologies, Sir, but is the commander here? It is about the delivery mission from yesterday." The man nodded, pointing to the commander's office. "She's in a conference though. What's the matter?"

"We lost contact to the pilot sir, and the duty officer wants to know if he has permission to start a search." Turning the man shoved the radio operator into the room. "Glasses here just told me that your kiddo went missing. You want to send someone to search for him?"

"Hey, it's rude to call me…" he was silenced by the commander, who in turn stood up and walked over to the window. "Tell the battalion to prepare, we may have to move out sometime soon. We'll wait until tomorrow for out pilot to contact us, then we'll move. And tell the captain that this order is absolute."

* * *

"So why are you using a Biplane? They are quite agile, but they can't keep up to modern planes anymore." There was a short period of silence before she answered. "We can't. The Zero is not suited for aircraft operations, she's just too small. These FW 44 are slow enough to be pulled in by the grappling hook, and to start from it again. Also we wouldn't be able to hold a plane with more span than this one has in the Hangar." 

"Hmm… why don't you fit a runway on the airship?" She shook her head, barely visible in the mirror. "The Zero was a prototype, and unlike the newer airships too small to fit a runway on. But it's not as bad, we were able to manage with our FWs, and I enjoy flying like this."

Turning around another mountain top a large airship came out of the clouds. "Zero? This is flight One-O-Three, requesting to dock at the hook." Two minutes passed until they got response. "We'll turn her into the wind, wait a minute. I'll give you green light at the hook when you can dock."

They circled the airship in a wide arc until a large metal hook came out of the lower hull, snapping into position under a loud screech. "Uhh… sounds trustworthy…" They flew in from the stern, slowing down until they were right below the hook. She pulled a handle, and a mechanism pulled the upper wing onto the hook. They were lifted in, and the bay doors closed, securing the plane's footing.

Jumping down they headed for the bridge, being greeted by two girls who immediately flanked the boy. "Good thing you're back already. The boss said this place will become troublesome soon." Opening a door they moved in, greeting the person standing next to the helm.

"I'm back sir. And I found this…" she was interrupted when the boss walked up to the boy. "Name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, Fire country air force pilot."

"Sir."

"Huh?"

"I'm the commanding officer. It's Uzumaki Naruto, Sir."

"My apologies… Sir."

"What's your business in this country?"

"Uhh. I didn't see any markings on this ship; does it belong to the Forest county air force?"

"Sir."

"Uhh, yes… Sir."

"Do I have to repeat my question?"

"I have been sent to deliver urgent messages to the Forest country capital. These scrolls…" He was cut off when the captain took the scrolls from him. Removing the seal he took his time reading them, seemingly over and over.

"Helmsman…" The girl in front of the helm turned, glaring. "Helmswoman, sexist idiot." The captain sighed, whatever. "Turn to the northeast, we move to the capital. Sakura?" One of the girls stepped forward. "Take him to the radio room, let him talk to his superiors. Have him find out how much time is left till this happens. I'll give a message to the crew when you're done, you'll find me in the map room."

Naruto was yanked into a smaller room and sat in front of a radio. Taking the headset he turned a few wheels and flipped a switch. "FC air force seventh battalion, this is FC air force twenty – six six three, do you read me? I repeat this is FC air force twenty – six six three for FC air force seventh battalion…" It took a few minutes before he got a reaction. "This is FC air force, seventh battalion, Corporal O'Reilly. Man where did you go, the captain is panicking over here and the commander prepares for a war. Did you deliver the scrolls?"

"No. I got into some storm a few kilometers into the Forest country. Blew my plane to bits. I've been picked up by a military airship, but it seems they have no planes that can go the distance to the capital. Can you get me the commander?" There was some light shuffling on the other side. "I sent a messenger, she should be here shortly." Naruto sighed. "And just when I get my fist single mission. So how's the captain?"

"I tossed out five bins of trash. And he threw a pencil at me. I really don't like it when he's nervous." Naruto laughed, despite the situation. "Don't worry about it. He'll be back to normal when he finds out that I'm alright… probably." There was some more shuffling and another person joined into the conversation. "So you got in over your head Uzumaki? I thought you were ready for everything?"

"It's not like I had a say in it. There was one of the nastiest storms I've ever seen, pushed me into some spiky cliffs. Had my ass dangling in the chute there for hours" Someone snickered in the background. "Radar shut it!" There was a soft click in the line and then silence. "Eavesdropping brat. So what about the papers?"

"I've got them here. But this airship doesn't have any planes that can go to the capital. The captain already set a course there, but it may take longer…" There was a brief silence. "If you can't get the scrolls there within the next twelve hours we're in some big trouble. How far are you from there?" Naruto turned to Sakura. "Say, how far is it to the Forest country capital?" She walked over to a map. "One thousand five hundred kilometers, give or take a few."

Naruto relayed the information. "An airship won't make it in time. Try to find an airfield and get your ass to the capital." Naruto was dismissed and asked Sakura to take him to the map room. "So, what did they say?" Naruto walked forward. "We have twelve hours to get there." Taking a look at the map and the course the boss had sketched out for them he doubted that they'd make it in time.

"Can this airship make it?"

"Sir."

"Do we really have the time for this kind of stuff."

"On my ship it's my rules. No, the Zero travels at one hundred Kilometers per hour. We could go faster, but the engines three and four are down for maintenance… Our best shot would be sending you with one of the FWs."

"But don't these have…"

"Yes, a range of five hundred fifty kilometers, six hundred if the conditions are good. Take a look at this:" He motioned to the map. "This is Hondo airfield, four hundred twenty kilometers north from the capital. It's one of three airfields in the Forest country. If we get you in range you can go to the capital from there. We should be able to get in range within the next four hours. From there you should make it in no time."

Naruto squinted at the boss. "What's the catch? I mean you scrapped five other courses before coming up with that one."

"Yeah, well… the problem is that we are not exactly welcomed in that area. I don't know if they'll let you refill there. On the other hand there is no other way." Naruto looked over the map. "No other airfields… this country doesn't have much of an air force. Then how did you get this airship?"

"I think you misunderstand something here. We don't belong to the Forest country air force. We operate independent of any country's jurisdiction." Naruto gulped. "In other words… you are pirates." The boss smiled at him "Jup. So you wanna go down? I'll get you a pilot. We also need to refit the plane, if you encounter a patrol it'd be bad if you were unarmed."

Climbing up a ladder and walking over a bridge on the middle framework they had a look over the planes, and a few people scurrying around between them. "I guess best choice would be using the One-O-One… the tanks were modified and the engine output increased. The range is a little better, but we'd have to leave you with two light MGs."

Naruto looked at the plane. "You removed some of the plating on the wings, didn't you? Does she have self-closing tanks?" The boss shook his head. "The others have, but this one is pretty old and we didn't have parts to upgrade it. This plane was delivered with the airship, that's where the modifications came from."

Naruto shook his head. "I'd prefer one of the normal planes. If we really encounter enemy planes we're screwed with this one. We'll manage even with less range." The boss nodded, signaling one of the mechanics to come up. "Then how about you fly with Hinata in the One-O-Three?" Naruto leaned over the ledge, searching for the plane in question. "Which one?"

"The one you came in with. You know, with the dark haired girl?" Naruto nodded… "Okay… but can I ask what kind of weaponry you have to equip it with?" The mechanic stopped next to them. "I will, if it's alright." The boss nodded briefly. "Well you can get four light MGs in the wings or we can mount a twin MG that shoots through the propeller's blades. We could also refit the second seat with a turntable MG that points backwards."

"Anything you'd prefer to have?" Naruto thought about it for a second. "The twin MG and the second seat refit please. I guess that will do best. We'll try to outrun any enemies we encounter, better than wasting our gas in a dogfight." The boss nodded and sent the mechanic down to apply the changes. "Okay, I'll announce the change of plans to the crew, then I'll brief you and your pilot in the map room. Go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute."

While Naruto searched his way back to the map room the captain made his announcement. "ATTENTION TO ALL HANDS. WE GAINED INFORMATION THAT THE FOREST COUNTRY'S DAIMYO IS TO BE ASSASSINATED AND THE COUNTRY IS TO BE TAKEN OVER BY ONE OF THEIR MILITARY LEADERS. SINCE THIS AFFAIR COULD ENDANGER OUR BUSINESS IN THIS COUNTRY WE'LL HELP ONE OF KONOHA'S PILOTS TO REACH THE COUNTRY AND HAND OVER SECRET DOCUMENTS ABOUT THE PLANS OF THE ASSASSINATION. HINATA IS TO REPORT AT THE MAP ROOM AT ONCE, I ALSO WANT THE ENGINEERING CREW TO MAKE THE REPAIR OF ENGINES THREE AND FOUR HIGHEST PRIORITY."

Assassination? He didn't know about this. But it made sense, looking at how his commander put him into so much pressure to reach the capital in time. Looking into one of the rooms he closed the door again. _Where was that room again? Wait, what was that? _He reopened the door again, only to blush and slam it shut. _I'm innocent, I really didn't see anything… _

When he finally found the room the captain was waiting for him. "And they say I'm tardy. Where have you been?" Naruto blushed. "Got lost, opened the wrong doors." The boss arched an eyebrow, but didn't ask any further. "Well it's no problem, seeing as Hinata is not here yet." As on cue, the door opened, revealing a slightly blushing girl. "Sorry Sir, I was changing." Naruto froze. She seemed to know someone had seen her, but had she seen him?

She didn't mention anything about that though, and instead sat down on a chair in the corner. "Okay, let's start." He handed them a small clipboard with a map of the region. "I put in a few notes about the most important stuff. First things first: Hinata you'll take the front seat and pilot, Naruto will handle the turntable MG. You are to fly straight to the airfield, get your plane refueled and head straight for the capital. No dogfighting, no stalling. Time is the most important factor now. "

They both nodded. "Any stuff we should watch out for?" He looked at the clipboard, flipping through the notes. "Yes, there are some rivaling pirate crews; some of the rebelling military leaders could have sent planes to attack you. And at the Hondo airfield there is some heavy flak stationed. Don't know where exactly though."

"Anything else?" The captain rubbed his chin, thinking about it for a few seconds. "Yes, Hinata's flight style is kinda irresponsible at times. Don't forget to take a barf bag, you know just in case…"

"Wha… I don't… I never…" Turning between the boss and Naruto she flailed with violently with her arms, blushing madly. "Don't worry, I already know." Smiling at each other they observed her reaction. "That's so mean..."

* * *

"I told you, he's fine. We're sending a patrol to pick him up tomorrow. For now you should worry about the flight plan for tomorrow. If he can't make it in time we'll have to move to the Tanis airfield and we don't have enough transport planes and trucks." The captain sighed, crumpling together a piece of paper and tossing it into the trashcan. 

"Aye, Sir. I'll organize a few trucks from the eleventh division."

"Aye is a Navy term, stop using it already. Have O'Reilly do that. I want you to go to the hangars and get the mechanics, they have to refit the cargo planes and load in the spare parts. We also need to make sure we have enough pilots when we move out."

"I'll take care of it. Is there anything else I should know about?" The commander was silent for a moment. "The Forest country does not have any airships… still Naruto said he has been picked up by one." The captain nodded. "Pirates?"

"Maybe… since they let him contact us I guess they'll help him, but we should make sure we pick him up at the capital, no matter if gets there in time. I guess we can afford sending in a two seated scout to do this. Would you care to choose the pilot and have him come to my office in five hours? I've been ordered to meet with the higher-ups."

* * *

"Okay kiddo, this is the Bren auto rifle, commonly known as BAR. You know how to shoot a rifle?" Naruto nodded. "They taught us how to shoot with pistols, machine pistols and rifles. I can handle myself. But isn't that thing a little bit overkill?" 

"Hinata gets a Thompson. should you get into a fight inside buildings, but I'd feel better if you take a gun that has some more range and accuracy." Naruto nodded again. "Whatever you say. Anything else before we move out?" The boss nodded. "When you land on the airfield you're still one kilometer away from the administrative buildings. You'll have to get a car. But try not to raise too much attention; it may become hard to get to the daimyo with the local police on your heels."

"Okay. We'll move out then." He climbed up into the plane and put on his radio, as well as the flight goggles. "You ready over there?" There was a nod from the front seat. Giving the boss a thumbs-up he waited for the hatch to open. "So then let's get some work done, right?"

They were lowed down and she started the engine. "This is the One-O-Three. We're moving out to Hondo airfield now." Releasing the hook they glided down a few meters before they had gained enough speed climb up again. "Okay, according to the map we have to head northeast, 35 degrees. We should reach the airfield within the next one and a half hours."

There was a short period of silence while she set up their course. "So… what did you see?" Naruto winced. "You noticed?!" There was another period of silence. "Uhh… I really didn't see much, really. I didn't even want to…" She cut him off. "That's alright… but… you know… next time please knock before you enter."

There as another brief period of silence before Naruto asked. "How did you know it was me?"

"… I didn't… It was… a guess I took from your reactions in the map room." Naruto sweatdropped. "So you just bullshitted me when you said you knew?"

"Anou… I never said I knew… I just asked what you saw…"

"For someone who appears to be rather shy you're quite cunning, aren't you?"

"T… Thank you…"

"But there is something about you that bothers me." He could see her shifting nervously. "And that would be?"

"Red polka dots don't quite fit you."

* * *

Finishing notes: 

Q: Why don't they fly with the airship till they are in range to fly directly to the capital?

A: If they fly directly they have a time window of half an hour to reach the daimyo and stop the attack, if they fly using the airfield as rally point they have more than two hours to do so. Need more reason? Cause I want them to :P.

Yes, so this is the first chapter... hope you enjoyed reading... but note that there will be no chapter two until I get one review for this one. (a habit I'll keep for future chapters).

Also have fun guessing who is who in this chapter. The "boss" should be easy, but let's see if you find out the other ones.


	2. Assault the airfield

Disclaimer: Go to chapter one, do I look like I'd repeat this over and over again?

Author's notes: Happy christmas/Kwansa/whatever holiday you may celebrate at your place! As a special present this is chapter two. And thanks to a writers block I had while doing this chapter I have a special present for tomorrow: Chapter three is at 4k words now, and almost finished. I hope to upload it by tomorrow.

I was quite suprised to see symbiotic being my first reviewer, danke fuer die Aufmerksamkeit nochmal (and have a look at the A/N at the bottom when you're done reading ;)). Also athenarules14: Nice try, but no cigar. Guess again!

Due to me having no time I have to upload this unbetaed again, but I proof-read it various times so I hope it is mainly bug-free.

As last time, have fun guessing who-is-who, and I hope you like it as always. If anyone reviews before I post chapter three I'll send him my personal signed special edition of an internet!

But now on to the chapter:

Assault the airfield

They had managed to somehow gather most of their equipment and load it into the planes, but the trucks were still not ready. They also had trouble refueling the planes after one of the fuel tanks had caught fire. They managed to seal it off before anything worse had happened, but now they had barely anything left since the new deliveries had been sent to Tanis airfield already.

"Corporal?" Radar ran over to the commander, who just climbed out of a transport plane.

"Is everything set for the departure?"

"We have most planes packed up, but we still don't have enough trucks. The fuel has been sent there already and we're waiting for orders right now."

"Have the trucks with the radio equipment move out first. They will set up an auxiliary tower over there until everything is delivered. The planes will move out the second the first team reports from there. Don't forget to give them escorts. If necessary have them fly multiple times to compensate for the missing trucks. I've been ordered to stay behind until everyone is settled in, so captain Umino will receive the command until then. I'll coordinate everything from here."

They started walking to the radio rooms. "Is that because of… you know?"

"Yes it is. I guess I have five more months before they make me retire because of it. Maybe I should start searching for a replacement... Anyways, you move out in…" She stopped, turning over to some of the pilots running past them. "Guys, I hope you can explain why that mechanic is wearing stockings!"

"He lost a bet, Ma'am!" She shook her head. _This unit is a nuthouse…

* * *

_

They had been flying in silence for more than two hours by now. To be honest he was glad they _were_ still flying, after she had almost crashed the plane into a lake when jerking her head around. It had been a joke for god's sake, no reason to freak like that.

It had taken her a few seconds to recover, enough time for the plane to do a few barrel rolls and come dangerously close to the ground. Not to mention that he was almost hurdled out of the plane in the process.

"Have a look at ten. I see a runway over there, behind the river." She looked over and turned into the direction. "So do we contact them first or will we just go in and hope for the best?"

She didn't answer, which meant that they would go in without announcing themselves he guessed... or maybe she just was still mad. "Do you know where the fuel depot is?"

She took a few seconds to answer, searching for it as well. "Behind the hangar I guess. I don't know where exactly, I have never been here myself."

At least that would come in handy if they were caught, unless someone could identify their plane they should be able to find a way around being put in jail for piracy. _But with my luck, they'll put us in jail for stealing their fuel._

When they got down they first thought that the airfield was deserted, as they didn't see a single soul roaming around. They were proven wrong however when a bunch soldiers jumped out from their cover and circled their plane.

"State your names and the business you have here." Hinata was about to respond when Naruto jumped out of the plane, putting up his hands in a defensive gesture. "People, calm down. My name is Jimmy. Jimmy Bondi. I'm one of your fellow soldiers."

"Can I see your ID-tag then?"

"No you cannot, because I don't have one. Neither has my comrade." They raised their weapons. "I told you to calm down already. Look…" He held up the scrolls he was supposed to deliver. "…I was able to steal these from one of Fire country's communication officers. It contains information about a massive attack on our capital planned by them."

A Sergeant stepped forward. "And what is your business over here?" Naruto pointed at their plane.

"The only plane we managed to steal is this one, but the range of it is just of five-hundred something kilometers. We thought you'd let us refuel, so we can get those to the capital." He winked with the scrolls again.

Finally they dropped their weapons, Hinata letting go of her Thompson, hiding it under her seat again. "Look behind Hangar one, the tank should be full. The handle is a little rusty, so come back if you need help moving it."

They did as they were told, Hinata moving the plane next to the tank and Naruto handing her the tube. He had to put some effort into opening the valve, but managed without problems. When they were almost done they were confronted by the Sergeant.

"So you're off again?" Naruto nodded at him. "Hmm… can I ask you a question before you set off?" Naruto hung the tube back onto the clamp he took it from.

"We just got a message from our Headquarters. Apparently a messenger from the fire country has been shot down by pirates. He was supposed to deliver important papers to our capital. You wouldn't know anything about it, would you?"

The Sergeant tried pulling a gun, but stopped dead in his track when a Machine gun burst flew right over his head. After patting the frightened man on the back Naruto ran over to the plane, throwing a salute over his shoulder. "Sorry pal, we're too busy to deal with you."

He took the front seat, seeing how Hinata was busy handling the MG. "Any wishes on how I get us out of here?"

"Fast" was all he heard, and he had to agree. The other soldiers were coming over trying to find out what was going on and he didn't want to wait until they started pointing guns again.

Turning the plane and rolling back onto the runway he realized something. "Didn't your boss say something about Flak?"

"There is an installation somewhere around, I don't know where though. We should be able to evade them if we keep close to the ground."

He pushed the throttle to max. "Isn't that even more dangerous?"

"Only if they spot us. If we gain altitude they'll have an easier time spotting us."

_And if we're lucky we'll fly straight into them and get our asses fried…_ "Okay, here goes nothing!" He lifted her off the runway and turned north. Some of the soldiers started firing at their general direction, but none of the bullets even came close.

"Okay, now since you took the backseat could you have a look at the map and our directions? I'll look out for…" He was interrupted by an artillery shell exploding right next to them.

"Found them! Flak cannons at four. Any ideas?" Another shell exploded, right above them, then another to the left and one right in front of the plane. Within seconds they were trapped in a storm of exploding shells.

"That's quite the lightshow just for one plane!" He tried evading the fire, but no amount turning or rolling would shake it. When one almost hit the left wing he decided that he had had enough.

"You said I should go down, didn't you?" She looked up from the map just in time to react and cling to her seat. "What are you doing!?"

They were diving down at top speed, pulling up just before they crashed into some trees. Using a wide clearing as cover they flew barely above the ground. "So which direction do we go now?" She took a second to catch her breath. "We have to head north; at ten degrees…but how do we get by that Flak?"

"This clearing should go all the way around the emplacement. I'll try to stay low as long as possible; we might be able to stay out of fire this way."

"We'll waste a lot of fuel…"

He shrugged. "Can't be helped."

There was a brief period of silence.

"Umm… by the way, who's Jimmy Bondi?"

He turned around, staring at her. "You don't know Jimmy Bondi? He's like the coolest movie character ever! All movies about him sell big in the cinemas."

"… I've never been to a cinema…"

"You're kidding me, right?" She shook her head. "No. We don't go into town that often, and when we do it's just to resupply."

"Well I guess I'll have to change that when we're done… not been to the movies yet, unbelievable…"

They continued in silence until they had to ascend over the treetops. Within a second they were under fire again. It wasn't as concentrated as before, but it still shook them pretty violently.

"We should get out of range soon, but how did they know where we would come out?"

"They know the area better than we do. They probably guessed it." Slowly the artillery fire let up, giving the two pilots time to catch their breath.

* * *

The convoy had been driving on this rocky path for hours, but the airfield was still not in sight. "Do you know where we are? This map doesn't make any sense at all." Radar took the map from his captain, taking a close look. 

"Of course it doesn't, this is a map of the Wind country, Sir." He shuffled through the stacks of papers lying on the dashboard.

"Here we go." Opening a map he took a close look. "The last sign we saw said 'Adam's Ribs', that's about… hmm… can't find it."

Taking the map from his Corporal Iruka took a look for himself. "We've been moving for two hours with a speed of forty miles an hour. If we followed this street…" He moved his finger along the street, measuring how far they had gotten.

"It's just ahead, another ten or fifteen miles I'd guess." He leaned out of the window, looking for any recognizable landmarks. "Corporal, when we get there make sure the radios are installed first. I want to know when the planes will arrive…"

He took a closer look at the sky above them. "… It looks like it's gonna be raining here in a few hours."

"In the weather broadcast they said that for the next three days there is a high possibility for rain, Sir."

The captain grumbled at that. "Meaning we will have to unload the equipment in this cold, rainy, muddy weather..." closing the window again he sunk into his seat.

* * *

"Did they reach their position yet?" The commander shook her head. "What about the boy you sent to the capital?" 

"Nothing from there either. But I guess they'll take another hour or two." She took a cup and a glass from her desk drawer. "I suppose you want Alcohol?"

He nodded. "Too bad you can't drink anymore, isn't it?"

She tossed him the glass and a bottle. "You can help yourself, right?"

He smiled at her. "Is that how you treat you superior officers?"

"Drop it, I'm not in the mood. Those garden gnomes in the headquarters tried to put me off-duty right there, in the middle of operations. Damn idiots and their bureaucracy …" She took a can and filled it with hot water.

"That's what happens if you put civilians without battle experience into leading positions. Don't worry about it, I'll look if I can pull a few strings."

"No need to, I made sure they understood that I'm able to command this unit for a little longer. Now where did that pesky shrimp put my tea…"

He moved over to the cabinets and opened the drawer labeled with "T". He tossed her a bag and closed the thing again, sitting back down on his chair.

"Nuthouse, I tell you."

"So, did you visit the memorial?" She put the tea bag into her cup. "Yes I did. Not many people coming these days. But that's okay I guess, at least this way I had some time alone with him. I left a greeting from you, by the way. I hope that's okay."

He chuckled. "Yes, yes… I always forget to go there anyway." He looked at his watch. "This reminds me, I'm supposed to be back I two hours, so I guess I'm off."

He stood up and brushed off his Jacket. "I'll see you in a week; hopefully the move is complete by then." She nodded, and then saluted at him. "I'll take care of it, General."

* * *

"We should see the capital at any time now. Make sure you don't cause a ruckus like last time." 

She blushed. She didn't really cause much ruckus; she just made sure they could continue on. Still he had been teasing her about how she had a nervous finger all the way to the capital.

She had actually enjoyed the attention, it was just that he had the unnerving ability to catch her off guard with about every single of his comments and statements.

"Over there it is, at two O'clock."

"Yes, that's the capital. The airfield is supposed to be in the eastern districts. We should go down a little to get a better view."

He did just that, heading to the eastern part of the town. Finding the airfield was easy enough, as it was a rather large compared to the one-runway Hondo airfield. They approached one of the free runways and got down without trouble. Hiding the plane behind one of the hangars they moved around various buildings.

"When we flew over this place I saw a street over there, but where do we get a car?" He gripped his rifle, looking around the corner.

"I don't know…" She stalked over to the building on the other side of the street, hiding inside a storage room. Naruto followed a few seconds later.

"Hey. Where have you gone?" He tried not raising his voice, but got a little nervous when he didn't get any response. "Hina"

He was cut off by the sound of a starting engine. "Look what I found!" She came out sitting on a motorcycle with sidecar. "Too bad we can't get this one to the Zero…"

Naruto smiled, rubbing the back of his head. "You're really weird." Missing the disappointed look on her face he jumped into the sidecar. They put on their flight goggles and moved out.

* * *

To say he was annoyed probably was an understatement. Not only was he assigned to some stupid retrieval mission while his battalion was in an emergency situation, they also had the nerve to give him this silly excuse of a plane just cause it was the only two seated one that was free. He could seethe over it, but his dignity would keep him from doing such unsightly things. 

Why did this idiot get such an important mission anyway? They should have sent someone responsible, someone competent and most importantly someone experienced. _Someone like me._ He would have been back already. And now this rookie was endangering the peace between the countries just cause he couldn't keep his plane in the air.

When they were back he would make sure this Naruto kid got discharged. Checking the gyro and the map he adjusted his direction. For this idiot's sake he hoped that the mission was a success, otherwise he'd kill him on the spot.

"Fire country seventh battalion to FC air force ten – four two four, do you read me?" He took the radio. "What is it?"

"Ohh, sounds like someone is still mad."

"Is there anything important or did you just call to annoy me?"

"Our squad leader asked me to deliver a message to you. Once you reached the airport you are permitted to stay and wait for three hours, not five like they said on the briefing. Should anything bad happen you have to take off no matter if your mission is complete or not."

"So the captain is worried that we might lose another pilot in this territory?"

"It is not like Naruto-kun is dead, he was just diverted by the paths of youth. Also the decision came directly from headquarters; not even the commander had a say in it."

_Could this mean they know something they won't tell us?_ "Anything else?" There was a short silence.

"Nothing else. Come back safely."

"I will. Over and out." _Like I could screw up a mission…

* * *

_

"Okay guys unpack the stuff! Radio equipment to the tower, second floor! Maps to the map room, tower ground level, first room on the left! Generators to Hangar one! Move my stuff to the Tower, ground level, second room on the right."

Radar dismissed the crew. "We'll take a look around. I want to see if everything is in working order." He nodded, following captain Umino to the Hangars.

"The radio system should be assembled within fifteen minutes, Sir." Iruka nodded.

"That's enough time to take a look around."

They walked around the Hangars and down the runway to one of the supply shacks. They didn't find anything notable, a black cat was napping in one of the hangars and there were weird scorching marks at the end of the runway.

"Do you know if the radar station over there is still operational?" Radar took a look at his clipboard. "According to the last reports the station is still there, Sir."

Iruka sighed, shaking his head. "Didn't anyone test this thing before we got here?"

"Apparently not, Sir."

"Then we do it. Gather a few technicians and get this thing to work. We could need it to coordinate our flight operations. I'll go and contact our battalion."

Radar gave the captain a short salute and ran off while Iruka took a more relaxed pace back to the tower.

Climbing up the four flights of stairs to the control room he took a close look around. _We'll have to do some intense cleaning when the move is complete… _"Are you done in here?"

A technician winked at him from under a desk. "No, but we set up a working radio over there. Feel free to use it."

Iruka thanked the man and sat down at the desk, taking the headset and turning on the radio. "This is Tanis airfield to FC air force seventh Battalion. We have arrived at our destination and are prepared for the reinforcements to arrive. I repeat this is Tanis airfield to FC air force seventh Battalion. We are ready on our side, you can head out now."

There was some shuffling on the other end before he received answer. "Took you long enough, captain. How does it look on your side?"

"Dusty, Ma'am. The airfield is in working condition and the fuel tanks have been refilled properly. We don't know about the radar installation yet, this whole place has not been well tended to. But I guess we can move on to phase two now."

"Sounds good. I'll give permission for the first wave to take off in a minute. They should reach you in…" They were interrupted by Radar, who had run into the room and came to a screeching halt next to the captain.

"Captain, we have a problem."

* * *

They had made it all the way to the city centre and were now standing in front of a rather large building that had marble stairs leading up to huge oak doors. Two lines of pillars on both sides of the doors were supporting a heavy roof that protruded a few meters over the building walls. 

"Western style, isn't it? They sure know how to show off…"

"According to our boss the daimyo is a fan of ancient western architecture. He had the old palace as well as the administrative buildings rebuild in this style. He is rather popular with the general public, but this decision was not well accepted as it took up a lot of public funds."

Naruto jumped out of the sidecar started walking up the stairs. "So then how about we use the front door?"

"We shouldn't. The soldiers from the airfield likely sent a message here. They'll catch us for sure."

Naruto smiled, shaking his head. "Hinata, Hinata… you didn't learn anything about me in the last few hours, did you? Look here." He winked at her with an ID-tag.

"Where did you…" He shushed her. "When you played around with your gun. Pretty neat, isn't it?" Taking the tag he hung it around his neck. "Now stay here and enjoy the show." Pushing open the heavy door he walked in, greeting the guard sitting at a desk to the right casually.

"You're not very alert over here, are you?" The guard shot him a glare. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto stepped forward. "I came all the way from Hondo airfield to warn you about enemy spies and you sit here reading comics." The guard jumped up. "Ahh, that's what this is about. You're the guys that let the pirates refuel and run away again. Didn't think you'd come all the way here because of that…"

"I don't like being bullshitted by mere pirates. So can I go and talk to the one in charge here?"

"Name and ID-number?"

"Zelmo Zale, 935669253." The guard shuffled through a few papers, but seemed to have lost interest halfway through. "Whatever. Go in, it's in the third floor left corridor., fifth door to the right."

He moved up the stairs and around a corner in the first floor. Searching a vacant room he moved to the window and winked at Hinata. He motioned her to go to the other side and got a short nod as affirmative.

Running over to the other side as well he opened a window while she stacked up a few boxes and trash bins. They were lucky, the ground level windows were secured with iron bars, but the upper floor windows were not.

Offering her a helping hand while she climbed in and closing the window behind her he assessed the situation. "Getting in was easy enough. Now where do we go to find the daimyo?"

She dusted herself off while answering. "His rooms are in the seventh floor. He has the whole floor for himself as he barely leaves the building. There is a big conference room, various offices and a few living quarters for him and his personal advisors."

He nodded. That meant they just had to get to the seventh floor unseen. "Can I have my gun?"

She nodded, handing him the rifle and inspecting her own. "We should try to avoid resorting to violence unless it's unavoidable. Go in, talk to the daimyo, get him to a safe place and hope the police can handle the assassins."

They found a second stairway on the northern side of the building and used it to sneak up to the sixth floor. Moving through the corridors and to the main stairway they barely managed to hide in a cabinet when a few secretaries came into view.

"But it's weird how the daimyo doesn't want anyone to enter his floor anymore. I mean he's always been a rather open person, so why the sudden change?"

"I heard it's something about a sudden illness and how he's supposed to stay in bed. Maybe he doesn't want to appear weak?"

"You think so? I don't know about that, but it's certainly a hassle this way. All of a sudden the paperwork has doubled."

The secretaries passed by and the two continued on to the main stairway. Peeking around the corner Hinata spotted another guard. "I doubt we can get around him from here, so what do we do now?"

Naruto looked around and spotted an open room a few doors down the corridor. "I may have an idea, come with me."

They closed the door behind them and he opened a window. "Looks like I was right. This floor is the first attic level, and the seventh floor is the second one. There were no windows in the roof on the front side, but apparently on this side there are. All we have to do is climb up the roof and find an open window."

He helped her out of the window and climbed onto the roof by himself, taking a look around. "Over there." She pointed at what looked like a balcony with a rather large open glass door leading to the inside.

"Weird architectonic style..." They jumped onto the balcony and walked into the room. There was a rather large four-poster bed to the right and an oaken wardrobe on the far side of the room. It was empty otherwise and nobody was to be seen. "If he really was ill he'd be here, but he's not… also, do you smell this as well?"

She nodded. "It smells awful. Maybe that's why the windows are open…" opening the door she peeked around. The hallways were dark and empty, and the weird stench was everywhere. They opened a few doors, but the whole floor seemed deserted.

"This seems to be the conference room." They stood in front of rather large double doors that were decorated with several ornamental carvings painted in golden and silver colours.

She gave him a questioning look and he nodded. Pushing the doors together they stepped into the room, just to be greeted by an even more horrible stench. "Oh my god…"

* * *

The commander hated waiting. It was not that she didn't have the patience; it was just that she didn't like idling around when there were important matters to attend. She was about to go and take a walk when one of the radio operators came and informed her that Tanis airfield was contacting them. 

She immediately moved over to the radio and took the headset. "… I repeat this is Tanis airfield to FC air force seventh battalion. We are ready on our side, you can head out now."

"Took you long enough, captain. How does it look on your side?"

"Dusty, Ma'am. The airfield is in working condition and the fuel tanks have been refilled properly. We don't know about the radar installation yet, this whole place has not been well tended to. But I guess we can move on to phase two now."

Signaling to the radio operator to go and inform the pilots she resumed talking.

"Sounds good. I'll give permission for the first wave to take off in a minute. They should reach you in…" She was interrupted when someone made loud noises at the other end of the line

"_Captain, we have a problem."_ Was all she could make out.

"Something going on at your side?"

She had to wait a few seconds before she got an answer. "Ma'am, it seems that the radar is up and working. Corporal O'Reilly told me that they did a test run and saw something about one hundred kilometers to the northwest. Thirty targets, from the strength of the signal most likely fighter planes."

She bit her lip. "Is the information accurate?"

"They checked the values over and over. The planes are not moving from their position and they are keeping an altitude of about six thousand feet. Maybe they have an airship around that they use as base of operations."

"In other words it's an ambush laying in the wait. Okay, now listen closely. We don't know if they found out you're there already. I'll have our planes move out as it was planned while you prepare as many anti-air measures as possible. I'll send you all fighters we can equip in time, but you have to take care of resupplying them. Be prepared for a lot of work, we'll have the transporters go in while our fighters keep them busy."

"Aye, Ma'am."

"Stop 'Aye'ing me already. I'll contact you again, make sure you guys stay safe." With that she tossed the headset onto the desk and grabbed the microphone, flipping a few switches on the radio system.

"ATTENTION TO ALL HANDS, I JUST GOT WORD THAT THE ENEMY WILL LIKELY TRY TO AMBUSH OUR TRANSPORT PLANES. I WANT ALL FIGHTER PILOTS AT THE BRIEFING ROOM IN FIVE MINUTES. IN THE MEANTIME THE MECHANICS ARE TO PREPARE AS MANY PLANES AS THEY CAN. IF THEY WANT THAT AIRFIELD THEY'LL HAVE TO KICK US OUT BY FORCE."

Yells of approval roared through the camp, indicating the beginning of a difficult fight.

* * *

The chapter might get updated by tomorrow, but I won't change anything in the story, just put up the Q&A, as I don't have the time now. (Same goes for my trivia for this chapter) 

I think the commander should be clear by now, and the general is the same guy that showed Radar into the commader's room in chapter one. The pilot on the way to retrieve Naruto will be revealed tomorrow, let's see if anyon can guess him before then.

And before I forget, symbiotic: Sorry I didn't send this chapter to you before I put it up, but I just finished and don't have the time to put it up later, so here goes! But you'll see chapter three before anyone else does, if you have the time tomorrow.


	3. On the run

Disclaimer: If you still don't get it, go back and read chapter one again...

Author's note: Soo, I'm one day late, but I made it. Symbiotic helped me to find a few flaws in this one, and I'm grateful for that. I still see room to improve though, so look forward to the next chapter. I hope you like how this one turned out, and remember: No new chapter before I get a review for this one (and symbiotic's review won't count this time ;) )

And now for your reding pleasure:

On the run

The scene in front of them could best be described in one word: gruesome. Dozens of bodies were messily scattered over the desks and across the floor. Died blood was coating most of the floor, the walls and even parts of the ceiling. Naruto walked around the room while Hinata supported herself by leaning against the door frame.

"The blood is already black, and the stench indicates that this happened days ago…" He stopped at a rather large chair. A corpse was sitting on it, leaning heavily on the chair's left arm.

"That's the daimyo, right?" Hinata lifted her head, an ill expression on her face.

"Yes, that's him." He nodded, taking a closer look at the body. Something was sticking out of his Kimono. Naruto took it and moved over to her. "Come on, we have to get out of here."

They closed the doors again and moved back to the sleeping room when they heard steps moving up the central stairway.

"Get the intruders. They are spies form the fire country! If possible take them alive, they are to be questioned!"

They hurried into the room, closed the door behind them and pushed a drawer in front of it. "How do we get out of here? They have us surrounded!" He gritted his teeth, looking around the room for something that could help them.

"Hinata, take the sheets from the bed. We'll get out of here the direct way."

* * *

"You over there get a few sandbags and build wall over there, around the heavy MG! Where's my Radar?" 

The corporal ran over from the radar room. "I want you to go to the radio room. Contact the transports and tell them that it started to rain."

And it had started to rain rather heavily. "In a few hours it will be dark as well… this is not good."

He ran over to one of the hangars, talking to the mechanics. "Listen carefully: When the convoy gets here we have to coordinate the landing operations of the transport planes and the resupplying of the fighters. I want you to take care of the fighters. You'll have to work hard and fast. Every idle plane is weakening our defence, Understood?"

"Sir, Yes Sir!"

"Make sure you guys have everything you need. If you run out of supplies or spare parts tell it to Radar. He will make a list with everything we need and make sure it gets to you when the transports are here."

Iruka ran out of the hangar and to the tower. "Damn weather. Did you get a connection with the transports?"

The short corporal stood up, offering his seat to his captain. "You can talk to them if you want." Iruka nodded and took the seat, along with the headset form the corporal.

"This is captain Umino to the convoy, do you read me?"

"Yes Sir. We should be there in half an hour. Is the weather over there as bad as it is here?"

"If you mean heavy raining and wind speeds of fifty kilometres per hour and more yes, we got plenty of that."

There was an exasperated sigh on the other side of the line. "Cool, I love flying around in that weather. Anything else we should know?"

"Use the runways two, three and four. One and five are reserved. We marked them accordingly. After you landed your crew is supposed to help with the unloading. You'll take off and fly back when you're done."

"We have fuel for a second trip, but I'd prefer if we can refuel."

"If we have the time to do it, otherwise you'll have to go like that."

"Understood Sir, over and out."

Iruka dropped the headphones, leaning back in his chair. "When this is over I'll go, find myself a nice bunk and go to sleep. And don't even dare to wake me up for the next two weeks."

Radar nodded. "If you don't mind I'd like to join as well…"

* * *

He had made it to the capital without any problems, and was now refuelling his plane. When he was done he climbed up to the cockpit and took his vest. _Didn't I close the cockpit before I left?_ He shook his head. _I just hope my teammates are not rubbing off on me… _

Walking over to the tower he took his time asking the personnel if anyone had seen a pilot of the Fire country air force. Meanwhile the small shadow moving around the hangars had slipped his attention.

"They told me to wait for him, but did they actually tell _him_ that I'd be here?" He took a closer look at the area. "At least there is only one direction they can come from…" In one fluid movement he tossed his vest on a nearby bench and sat down right next to it. "If he messed up he's dead meat."

Meanwhile the shadow had started exploring the hangars by itself.

* * *

"Hurry up!" He was balancing on the balcony's railing. 

"You know that this won't work, do you?"

"Trust me, it'll work out fine."

"Did you get that from one of your movies?"

"No, that's from a comic I read a while ago. Now get moving."

She wanted to stop him, but she knew that they didn't have much of a chance if they didn't get out of this house fast. So she climbed up to him and did as he instructed her.

"You really sure this can break our fall?"

"No, but do we have a choice?"

She shook her head. "Okay, then on three."

"One, two…" The door behind them gave in, revealing a bunch of pretty dangerous looking soldiers. "…THREE!"

They jumped down the roof, two pairs of bed sheets in their tow. The sheets were tied to the railing and a loud ripping sound could be heard. Naruto had cut them at a few places so they would rip into a long string of linen. When the entire sheets were ripped up to one long string the two of them were dangling two meters above the ground.

They untied themselves and hopped down, landing more or less (in Naruto's case) gracefully next to their Motorcycle.

"Now that's what I call good timing." He jumped onto the seat, Hinata taking the sidecar. "It's not like the motorcycle decided to move here by itself."

He ignored her, starting the engine and speeding up instead. "Like I care, we have to get back to the airport now."

Flying around a corner they were at the front entrance again. "And now let's get started." He sped up along the main street, ignoring street signs and some policemen they passed on the way.

"Why are you going this fast, we're already out! We'll just draw more attention to ourselves!"

He jabbed a thumb at the street behind them. "Cause we have a few totally not suspicious looking cars following us!" She turned around, spotting three cars that were slowly closing in.

"Okay, I guess you can hurry up a little!" She got a grip on her seat while he made a sharp turn to the left, dashing trough the street trying to shake them off.

"If this goes on we won't make it to the airport! You got any ideas?"

"This is a Motorcycle, try using small alleys where they won't fit!"

"What about the sidecar?"

She jumped onto the pillion and grabbed into the space between the motorcycle and the sidecar. With a few pushes and pulls the connection was cut off and the cart flew away.

"What sidecar? Now get moving!" He turned the gas and sped up into a side-alley, Hinata clinging to his shirt.

"Okay I think we get back to the main street if we turn left, but I don't know where that airfield is!"

She looked over his shoulder. "Go left, then right! The airfield is only five minutes away!"

He did as she said and turned left. "Do you see them?"

They both looked around but didn't see any signs of their pursuers. Naruto still sped up, not willing to take any chances.

"We shouldn't stop at the gates, I guess our best choice would be that we climb the fences in the area we left our plane."

The airport was already in sight and they drove along the fence, searching for any buildings they could recognize. "Over there." She pointed over his shoulder at a hole in the fence.

"Good job, this will make work a lot easier!"

He came to a sliding halt next to the hole. "Hey, this is big enough to drive through, Lucky us!"

He slowly drove trough the hole and immediately accelerated again. "Okay, I think we have to go left, we found this thing in one of the hangars over there."

He stopped in front of a sign he remembered. "Okay, I'll put this back to where it was. You cover me." She jumped off and took her gun, guarding the entrance while he drove in and parked the motorcycle.

"Okay, now let's get moving." They ran back around the hangars and around a corner, only to bump into someone. Naruto stumbled back into Hinata and they both fell over.

"Oww… hey, watch it!"

"…Hinata?"

Hinata's pushed herself back up again. "Hanabi?!"

* * *

"Okay, pals! Here we go. We'll secure the sectors five and six, the other group will take three and four. If they try to run don't chase them, we don't know if it's a trap!" 

The squad leader was one of the pilots actually looking forward to the fight, unlike the other squads' captain. Not that he cared much. "Don't forget to cover your buddies!"

A collective roar of approval was heard through the radio before the formation broke off, the individual planes taking their defensive positions.

"This is Tanis control, we have you on the screens! The transports have permission to come in. No enemy planes approaching yet!"

"Understood, while we have the time we'll go and scout a little. Does the firefly want to join in?"

"… Don't call me that…"

"Okay, we'll go and have a look at your signals. Any changes or are they still flying circles at the reported position?"

"According to our radar some planes left and a few came to fill the vacant positions. I guess they ran out of fuel. A few of them scouted the area for a while, but that's not the case at the moment."

"Sounds good, with some luck we may be able to catch them on the wrong foot."

"… Don't do anything reckless."

The squad leader snorted. "I'm not reckless, I'm fearless."

"… which is just another word for reckless."

"Whatever. Tanis control, this is FC air force twenty – two five two, moving out for reconnaissance."

He pushed the throttle to full and climbed a few hundred feet. "Okay guys, let's Rock!"

* * *

"So you snuck into Neji's plane to get here?" They were still running towards their plane. 

"I didn't know it was his, I was just… hey, wait! I'm not the one that should be doing explanations here! How are you still?"

"Where is he?" Naruto interrupted her; he could care less how that runt got here, or what her connection to Hinata was. Neji was more important.

"He walked over to the main building. His plane is to the right, only a few meters."

"Then you go there…" He was interrupted by a loud screeching noise right behind them. Two cars had come to a halt and four pairs of doors opened.

"You there, that's as far as you go." Six rather huge thugs pointed their machine pistols at them while two smaller men gave orders from behind them.

"Did we do something wrong, Officer?" Hinata hid her sister behind them, building a protective wall together with Naruto.

"You are charged for the crime of espionage and murder of our precious daimyo. Surrender yourselves and we will spare you."

Naruto gritted his teeth. So they were supposed to pose as the culprits while whoever sent those thugs would be the hero for arresting the 'spies'.

"We have to get the runt out of here."

"We have to get ourselves out of here. They have to know the truth."

"Okay, listen now. There is a door five meters to the left. When I say now you grab her and jump in there."

"Hey, stop whispering there at once! Private, get them." One of the thugs walked over to them, smiling wickedly at the kids.

"Three, two… now!" He had pulled something from his pocket and threw it at the thugs, who in turn jumped out of the way and behind some cover. Hinata flew to the door, Hanabi in tow and literary kicked it in. Naruto ran into the opposite direction, hiding in a hangar to the right.

"Now let's see how you manage when we fight back." Naruto pulled out his rifle, unlocking it and shooting at the cars, the bullets ripping through the doors and windows.

Hinata watched Naruto fire at the cars and unlocked her own gun, just to make sure. Meanwhile the two leaders of the group were yelling at their underlings.

"You idiots, that's not a grenade! It's just a damn lighter. Get the brat, open fire!"

Six rifles opened fired at the hangar and he had to take cover because bullets impacted all over the place.. "Those idiots, they'll be helpless when they have to reload…"

Naruto waited till the fire died down again and used the time to jump out of cover, aiming for the helpless soldiers. "Stop right there!" Naruto froze and turned, only to see one of the officers standing right next to him, smirking and pointing a gun at his temple

"Damn." He dropped his weapon and lifted his arms over his head.

"Okay ladies, now it's your turn to come out." Hinata peeked out of the door. _So this is it…_ She stood up and grabbed Hanabi, only to topple over again when a nearby explosion shook the ground, followed by the blazing of various engines.

She peeked out again, both the cars were burning massively, dark smoke rising over the airport and the surviving soldiers were running for cover. She took the chance to run out in the open and point her gun at the enemy officer. "How about you freeze now?"

He grinned at her. "If you shoot at me I kill him." He pointed his gun at where Naruto stood, only to panic when he wasn't there anymore.

"In your dreams!" With a loud thud the officer sank to his knees, a huge bump in the back of his head indicating where the crowbar hit him.

"Where did you get that one?" He took his gun and grabbed her hand, running back to their plane.

"That was conveniently lying behind him! Now let's take the chance before they come back with reinforcements!" The blazing got louder again and two planes shot past them right over their heads.

"That's the One-O-Two and the One-O-Four! This means the Zero is here!!" When they finally reached their plane Hinata climbed to the backseat, Naruto helping Hanabi into it. Grabbing the headset Hinata adjusted the frequency.

"One-O-Two, This is the One-O-Three, Sakura do you read me?"

"Get the hell out of there! The Zero is right outside the city, but it seems they are getting backup any second now!"

Naruto, who had picked up his own headset, didn't want to stay anyways. "Okay girls, hold on tight! I'll have us out in a jiffy!" He turned the plane and steered towards the runway while Hinata put a parachute on her sister.

"Hinata, make sure to keep those meddling idiots off our back, I don't wanna be shot down before we even took off!"

Hinata pushed Hanabi down into the space between the front- and the backseat, telling her to stay quiet and turned around, relieving the safety catch of the double MG. "I'm all set!"

"Okay, then here goes!" Pulling the throttle to max they accelerated along the runway until the wheels lifted themselves off the ground. Naruto immediately pulled up, gaining enough altitude to get into formation with the other two planes.

"So you were suicidal enough to move this lame-ass airship all the way here? How do we get out of here without a fight, if I may ask?"

As on cue two enemy fighters dove down into their formation, breaking it.

"Hinata, watch out! Those guys are a lot faster than we are!" He did an Immelmann turn and got into position behind the One-O-Two, who was trying to evade the fire of one of the fighters.

When the plane dove down onto the One-O-Two again he fired a long burst at the plane, hitting the left wing. Some fuel leaked out, but stopped soon after. "Darn I missed!" The enemy evaded him and did a full looping, getting into position behind them. "Hinata!?"

"I have him!" Hinata pulled the trigger and fired a long stream of bullets at the fighter while Naruto tried outmanoeuvring the enemy. She managed to hit the engine, but the bullets were deflected by the plane's armour plating. She closed her eyes and ducked into her seat when the enemy opened fire… but nothing happened. She looked up again to see the plane dive down in a stream of burning smoke

Another plane climbed up behind them, passing them in the process. "You damn idiot should stop playing around."

Naruto sighed. "Hi Neji, Long time no see…"

"Whatever. You were supposed to come back with me. Now go down and get out of that plane. I have to report back to the base."

"Ohh, and how are we all supposed to fit into your plane?"

Neji glared daggers at the One-O-Three. "What, you want to take your girlfriend with you or what?"

"No, but I guess this stowaway that came here with you has to get back as well!" Naruto watched the One-O-Four deal with the last fighter with ease, two heavy MGs ripping the left wing to shreds and the plane tumbling down to the ground.

"What stowaway?"

"Hana-something, short kid, black hair, weird white eyes… by the way, is she related to you?"

"HANABI-SAMA IS IN YOUR PLANE?!"

Naruto switched to onboard sound. "Uhh… he's so loud. And what about you, are you related to that shrimp?"

There was a short pause. "Yes… she's… my sister."

"Then you're from the Fire country as well?"

She didn't answer directly, but in the mirror he could see her nod. "Then what are you doing here?"

"Can I… explain later?"

He sighed. No sense pushing her. "We might as well deal with Neji for now."

He flipped a switch again. "Hey Neji, going back to the capital is not an option. They killed the daimyo, and not today. That was at least a week ago. They are accusing us though, probably to draw the public attention away from their coup. I'll tell you the details later, but for now we have to get out of here."

"If what he said is true we should make that our first priority." The One-O-Two got into formation with them. "We'll help you getting back to your country later, but for now we have to get away from the capital."

Just then the Zero came into view. "Too bad we can't hook you up like our planes. Do you have enough fuel to accompany us at our speed?"

"That's an airship without a runway. Interesting, is that one from the LZ prototype series?"

A happy voice answered for him. "Oh, you were able to tell. Yes, the Zero is a modified LZ type airship. Most of it has been done by us, it was quite the achievement if I may say so."

Neji snorted, that was more information then he needed.

"Boss, can we come back in?"

"We're all ready over here. We'll get you in and move out fast and silent."

Naruto looked over to Sakura in the One-O-Two. "I'll go last if you don't mind."

He could see Sakura's smile even from the distance they were keeping. "Oh but I do mind! You get in first!"

Naruto gulped. Great, he never did that before. "If you damage the hook we'll hang you there and use you as replacement hook."

He moved in from the stern, steadily reducing the speed till it matched the airship's.

"Naruto, there is a small scope in the wing. If you see the green light through that you're in position."

He did just that, and when he saw it through the scope he gave Hinata the signal to pull the handle. The frame came out of the wing and pulled the plane onto the hook. "Thanks, Hinata. You're the best."

She blushed and ducked down to make sure he didn't see her.

One of the mechanics approached them. "Okay kids, good job. Jump out so we can store her away, we still have to get the others in."

They did as they were told. In the meantime the boss walked in. "Okay kids, briefing is in half an hour. Until then go and get something to eat in the mess… I think today it's Ram…en"

He sweatdropped as he watched the cloudy figure storm off. "Does he even know where to go?"

* * *

"We've located them. Twenty-seven planes over here, at six thousand-seven hundred feet. They didn't notice us yet it seems." 

The leader slowed down, flying a wide arc around the enemy force. "How about we dive down and try to get one or two? After that we run for it and lure them into the range of our main forces."

"… the idea is stupid… but this way we might surprise them, better than waiting for them to make a move."

They climbed a few hundred feet and Turined, diving down into the mass of enemy planes at full speed. The squad leader fired a full load into one plane's engine, which resulted in the plane doing down in a huge cloud of smoke and fire.

His wingman wasn't able to hit anything, but at least the enemy formation was broken. "They seem a little rattled, don't they? Okay, let's see if they can play tag." He did a U-turn, going straight through the enemy planes again, firing another stream at the fighters in front of him before accelerating to max and racing back to his squad.

"Okay, this is Red leader to the squadron! We've found them, luring them in right now! Prepare for attack!"

He looked back and was glad to see that more than half of the planes had started chasing them. He did a barrel roll to evade an incoming fighter that tried to cut them off and immediately took the opportunity, positioning himself.

"Don't get so impatient, I've got enough ammo for all of you!"

In one quick burst the plane's aileron ripped off, the plane rolling irregularly. The Leader could see the pilot open the cockpit and jump out before he had to evade another enemy fighter.

"Hey guys, two are down already! If you want to join in you should hurry up, or you won't get any!"

Four planes suddenly raced in from the front, opening fire while passing their leader.

"Like we can you glory hog get all the shots again! Red four and six are moving in!" The planes in question made an Immelmann turn, closely followed by their wingmen and dove into the masses of enemies, picking them apart plane by plane.

"The only glory hogs over here are you guys!" The squad leader had to laugh at their antics, despite the situation. "Make sure to keep them occupied, I'll see if I can get them from behind!"

He climbed a few hundred feet and assessed the situation. When he saw his chance he dove down, shooting at a lone fighter that had fallen behind and setting fire to the enemy plane.

"Is it just me or are these guys really easy to shoot down?"

"Probably because their planes are so outdated… But it seems they want to make up with numbers."

And it was true; he could see another wave approach from his ten O'clock position.

"Why would they send in so many planes if they are clearly inferior?"

It was then that they got the first warning from the airfield. "Tanis control to all fighters, we have a massive signal coming in from the northeast at a distance of one-hundred and fifty kilometres! Most likely an airship! All fighters in range are supposed to go in and investigate!"

The squadleader smirked, finally something that fit his taste. "On my way, Red one goes in to investigate! You following!?"

"… do I have a choice?"

The leader turned and dove down, leaving the scene of the fight to head east. "We go in high and fast, assess the situation and go back."

"… you getting cautious all of a sudden?"

"No, I just don't want to be bombed down by Flak or whatever…"

The airship revealed itself behind a few clouds, clearly visible even though it still was several kilometres away. Huge markings on both sides identified it as a Forest country military airship.

"Phew, that's one huge practice target!"

"… I don't see a runway. So there is likely another one hiding somewhere to support the planes."

They got closer, going in from behind and flying through a bank of clouds to hide their presence.

"What do they want here? This thing looks like it's unarmed."

He was proven wrong when they finally got a good view of the ship's bridge section.

"Red one to base, the airship is loaded for a bombing run; from the looks of it they are equipped with one thousand pound bombs!"

"This is Tanis control, are you sure?"

"Yes, the airship is equipped with at least twenty of those things in an external mounting!"

"That's enough to blow the whole base! To all available fighters, priority one is shooting down that airship. The blue squadron will keep the enemy fighters busy while the others go and kill that thing before it gets here!!"

_If I get this thing by surprise, maybe I can even blow the bridge._ "Cover me!"

Before his wingman could respond the leader had changed directions, charging the airship from its six O'clock direction. He started rolling, firing furiously at the bridge until he was only a few hundred meters away from it. While still flying heads down he waited until the last second to pull her up, or in this case down and dive for the ground.

"Did I get them!?" Before his wingman could answer the leader was caught in heavy MG fire. He was still diving down has fast as he could, pulling up his plane the last second possible "Seems like I missed! And I'm out of ammo too!"

The wing, who hadn't managed to follow his leader in time, had to evade heavy gunfire as well. Taking out two of the MG turrets in the process he fought his way into its blind spot and climbed over the airship and out of range, all the time wondering why this felt so weird.

"… it almost seems like this thing is radio controlled."

"What gives you the idea?"

"… the bridge is on fire, the airship should be out of control. But it isn't… also those turrets do not have any windows and the accuracy isn't the best." He dove down to join back with his leader.

"You think it's some new kind of automated turret?"

"… possibly."

They were flying back to the airfield, keeping an eye on the airship. "So how do we take it down?"

"… we have to sink it. There is no other way."

The leader cursed. "Tanis control, this is Red leader! Do we have anti-airship weaponry to equip our fighters with?"

"We have high-explosive ammunition for your heavy MGs!"

"Nothing else? Rockets? Bombs?"

"Are supposed to come in with the next wave of transports."

He bit his hand. _Dammit, taking down this thing with MGs alone will take ages._

"Red leader to all squads! Go down and equip with HE rounds! We'll take this thing down for good!"

* * *

Seems like they'll be in some serious trouble in the near future... As always, see if you can guess the character, anyone who guesses right will be mentioned in the beginning A/N of the next chapter.

Also, to all interested fan-artists: If I can get a picture of Hinata clinging to Naruto on the motorcycle you'll get into my hall of fame... err, yeah... or something like that. I'll think of something nice.

Not much trivia for this one, but I'll add it tomorrow (as I'm rather tired now).


End file.
